Franksville is a former

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in Racine County,

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, United States. The population was 1,789 at the 2000 census.

History

Originally occupied by the Potowatomi tribe, the first white settlers in the area then known as Skunk Grove arrived in the 1830s. By the 1850s,

plank road A plank road is a road composed of Plank (wood), wooden planks or wikt:puncheon#Noun, puncheon logs, as an efficient technology for traversing soft, marshy, or otherwise difficult ground. Plank roads have been built since antiquity, and were comm ...

s were built through the area, and by the 1870s the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway (Milwaukee Road) laid tracks through the area and a plat was filed with Racine County. This track is now used by the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

as the

C&M Subdivision The Chicago and Milwaukee Subdivision (commonly referred to as the C&M Subdivision or C&M Sub) is a railway line running between Chicago, Illinois and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is mostly dispatched by Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited (thro ...

. In 1907, the Frank Pure Food Company was established and built a plant in Franksville for the purpose of making

sauerkraut Sauerkraut (; , ) is finely cut raw cabbage that has been fermented by various lactic acid bacteria. It has a long shelf life and a distinctive sour flavor, both of which result from the lactic acid formed when the bacteria ferment the sugar ...

. Contrary to popular belief, however, the company did not give Franksville its name, which had already been established. The name likely came from either Frank Brandecker, a surveyor who platted the area, or Frank Drandieker, a foreman of the crew that laid the railroad tracks through the area. In 1949, the company held the first Kraut Festival, which was originally a picnic for employees and friends, but later expanded to a 4-day event. The festival's run ended in 2002, but was revived in 2015 as Kraut Music Fest. Franksville became part of the newly established village of

Caledonia Caledonia (; ) was the Latin name used by the Roman Empire to refer to the forested region in the central and western Scottish Highlands, particularly stretching through parts of what are now Lochaber, Badenoch, Strathspey, and possibly as ...

on March 20, 2006.

Geography

Franksville is located at (42.761085, -87.905173). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the CDP had a total area of 4.3 square miles (11.2 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 1,789 people, 651 households, and 531 families residing in the CDP. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was 412.4 people per square mile (159.2/km²). There were 661 housing units at an average density of 152.4/sq mi (58.8/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 96.76%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.61%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.45% Native American, 0.95% Asian, 0.56% from other races, and 0.67% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 2.91% of the population. There were 651 households, out of which 39.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 71.6% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 6.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.4% were non-families. 14.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.75 and the average family size was 3.04. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 27.9% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 34.3% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 7.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.5 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $65,863, and the median income for a family was $67,173. Males had a median income of $41,957 versus $30,104 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the CDP was $25,951. None of the families and 1.7% of the population were living below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including no under eighteens and none of those over 64.

Notable people

* Walter Goodland,

Governor of Wisconsin The governor of Wisconsin is the head of government of Wisconsin and the commander-in-chief of the state's Wisconsin Army National Guard, army and Wisconsin Air National Guard, air forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the ...

, lived on his farm in Franksville. * Elmer A. Morse, Member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

, was born in Franksville.

References

{{authority control Geography of Racine County, Wisconsin Former census-designated places in Wisconsin Neighborhoods in Wisconsin